Container

ABSTRACT

A plastic container used to hold a dispersion-based paint colorant and capable of dispensing the colorant into paint dispensing machines, comprising an open top capable of holding and securing a cap, and having a wide mouth with a diameter of at least 50 mm. The plastic container has a cylindrical body extending below the open top, and a plurality of vertical ribs spaced around the body to strengthen the container. The plastic container may be used to hold a dispersion-based paint colorant or personal care products such as shampoo and conditioner.

This application claims priority to Provisional Applications U.S.60/556,814, filed Mar. 27, 2004 and patent application Ser. No.11/048,184 filed Feb. 1, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a novel container for the packagingof dispersion-based colorants to improve ease of use and efficiencies ofpreparing colorants for final dispensing in paint formulating centers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Currently, dispersion-based colorants, such as universal colorants, arepackaged in quart metal cans. The metal cans require a variety of toolsto be opened in order to fill colorant dispensers. Such colorantdispensers are used to provide one or more colorants to a base paint toprovide a paint of a desired color. A common method used to open themetal cans of universal, dispersion-based colorant is with the use of acarpet knife and a “church key” type triangular can opener. This methodof opening the cans has exposed those employees who formulate the paintfor the individual consumer to potential injury. Additionally, bothopening tools and methods of use leave small openings in the top of thecan from which the colorant has to be poured. This results in slowaddition time to the dispensers, does not allow the metal containers tofully empty, and does not allow for access to properly clean thecontainers for environmentally sound disposal.

In the daily filling of the colorant dispensers, a large number of quartcontainers are required. This process of refilling the dispensersrequires a considerable time commitment. Typically, prior to filling thedispensers, the containers holding the colorant are shaken, such as inconventional paint mixing equipment, to mix and provide a uniformcolorant. Mixing in such equipment takes about 3-5 minutes. If a fullquart of colorant is not used, the containers are stored until the nextday. There is no way to reseal the partially filled open containers,subjecting the containers to potential contamination, spillage,evaporation of components, and inability to remix. Upon completion offilling all dispensing canisters, all the quart cans are disposed of asnormal waste. There is no ability to recycle.

“Plastics Technology-Online,” October 2003, discusses new technology toreplace the ubiquitous one-gallon metal paint cans used by professionalpainters and household consumers. From the article is described theSherwin-Williams Dutch Boy “Twist and Pour” gallon plastic can, anextrusion blow molded HDPE container with a PP lid that is presentlycommercialized. This advance was reinforced by the introduction of asimilar container by Masterchem, a supplier of primer paints that sellstopcoats in gallon and quart HDPE cans. These plastic containers aresquare-bodied, rounded-lid, twist-top designs that fit more cans intoavailable shelf space, a priority for mass retailers. The new plasticcontainers also incorporate ergonomic and convenience features for thepredominantly female paint consumer, including injection molded handlesand pour spouts, a recloseable screw cap that doubles as a paint cup,and color-coordinated labels that help consumers pick the right paint.However the new multi-part containers cost at least three times as muchas the typical steel gallon can. Further, the new plastic paintcontainers fit awkwardly into the paint industry's current handling,filling, and tinting infrastructure designed for round steel cans.

In early 2004, two firms are to launch new all-plastic concepts fordirect replacement of metal cans: an injection molded opaque, all-PP candeveloped by KW Plastics of Troy, Ala., and an injection stretch-blowmolded clear, one-piece PET can from the PCC Group in the U.K. For abouta decade, KW Plastics has supplied mass-market paint companies withmillions of paint cans in a hybrid design that joins a PP body to asteel ring and lid. KW now plans to launch an all-PP paint can bymid-2004. The can body, ring, and lid will be of black, high-impact PP,though at first it will still have a snap-in metal handle. The can'scrush-resistance reportedly exceeds that of metal cans and is sufficientto stack containers up to 25 units high. Called “Snap Lock,” thetwo-part gallon can uses an injection molded black PP body similar tothat of hybrid cans and a separate injection molded PP ring and lid. Theshape of the can intentionally parallels that of the steel version sothat it can fit easily into existing filling lines and in-store shakerequipment. Injection molded, snap-in PP pour spouts and handles are alsoin development.

The present applicants are not aware of any patents regardingalternative containers to address colorant handling issues.Sherwin-Williams offers colorant in a “F” style one-gallon plasticcontainer. The “F” style container is a duplicate of a gallonanti-freeze container. In order for the colorant to be mixed, thiscontainer must be hand shaken. Those instructions are specified on thelabel. It appears that no provisions have been made for this containerto be shaken with paint shaking equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a new design for a family ofdispersion-based colorant containers to address the key issues andobjectives above. The design consists of a container extrusion blowmolded from HDPE (high density polyethylene). The new containerincorporates a wide opening having a diameter of at least 50 mm thatallows for a removable and replaceable screw top closure. The design hasthe following advantages over the current metal quart containers in themarketplace: (1) requires no tools to open, (2) resealable, (3) speed ofaddition is improved with the wide opening. Tests have shown that thetime required to add colorant to paint dispensers can be reduced overthe current methods. For a quart container, pour times are reduced by66-75% (10-15 seconds) per container. Additional advantages include: (4)the wide opening facilitates ease of cleaning the container for properenvironmental disposal, (5) material of construction is a recyclableplastic.

Further, the container does not contain a separate handle that needs tobe molded and/or attached to the container, but includes a hand griparea molded in the container to provide for a more secure grip, reducingpotential for dropping containers and creating spills. The majority ofmetal containers in the marketplace are cylindrical in shape with nogrip area. The plastic container of this invention is cylindrical andhas a circular cross-section from top to bottom. The containerincorporates a circumferential grip area of narrow cross-section on theouter container surface. The circular shape of the container allows formultiple case handling and shaking in current shaking equipment. Aseries of circumferentially spaced ribs in the hand grip area reinforcesthe container and renders the plastic container of this inventionparticularly useful in commercial paint mixers.

Thus, the present invention provides a plastic container for holdingliquids comprising a circular open top capable of closure by a separatecap and a body portion extending from below said open top, the bodyportion containing a gripping ring in the form of a reduced perimeterring disposed around the perimeter of the body portion, the circular tophaving a diameter of at least 50 mm, the container being devoid of aseparately attached handle or any handle portion which extends laterallyoutward from the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded plan view of the container of this invention withcap.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the container of this invention with cap placedon the container.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the top of the container without cap showingthe circular cross-section.

FIG. 4 is an alternative container to that shown in FIG. 1, inparticular with respect to the shape of the circumferential shoulder.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of another alternative container within the scopeof this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present plastic containers may be used for holding liquids such asdispersion-based colorants, personal care products, and foods. Thepresent containers may also be used for pumpable or pourablesemi-solids. The present containers may also be used for pumpable orpourable semi-solids.

The containers of this invention may be used to store and dispense theliquids which are used to make customized personal care products from avariety of bases. Such personal care products include those used in theface, lip, and eye areas and in all external and rinse-off applications.Examples include leg-makeup, insect repellent lotion, shampoos of alltypes, bubble bath, body lotion (moisturizing, cleansing, analgesic,astringent), after shave lotion, after bath milk, and sunscreen lotion.

In particular, the plastic containers of the present invention are usedfor storing dispersion-based colorants, such as universal colorants,generally containing over 10% pigment solids dispersed within a liquidvehicle, typically a mixture of surfactants, so as to maintain thepigment solids suspended in the liquid solution without separation. Thecontainers of this invention are used to store and dispense the liquidcolorants into paint dispensing machines which are used to makecustomized colors from a variety of paint bases. The containers of thepresent invention provide improvements in the daily filling of thecolorant dispensers for paint formation, as previously described. Thus,ease of opening, being completely resealable, rapid filling speeds,easily cleaned for disposal and being recyclable are useful propertiesof the containers of this invention. Importantly, the plastic containersare provided with a strengthening feature so that the container canwithstand the forces extended on the container during the typical mixingor shaking required to provide colorant uniformity.

An example of a paint container of the present invention is shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 and is designated in general by reference numeral 10. Thecontainer, for example in quart and one-half gallon size, is formed byextrusion blow molding from high density polyethylene (HDPE). Theparticular molding process for forming the paint container is notcritical, and any known such method capable of forming the container 10as described below can be used in this invention. Extrusion blowmolding, a process well known in the art for forming hollow plasticstructures such as containers, is particularly useful. While HDPE ispreferred, the container configuration of this invention can be moldedfrom other plastics such as polypropylene (PP) or polyethylenetriphthalate (PET). It has been found that HDPE provides economicsavings in that a container of desired thickness with sufficientstrength can be formed. Referring to FIG. 1, container 10 has a top orneck 12 which is of circular cross-section, see FIG. 3. The neck 12 hasa wide mouth of a diameter of at least 50 mm. Diameters of at least 60mm are also useful and, in particular, diameters of from 70-100 mm ormore are contemplated. The neck 12 can be sealed by a cap 14 and beconfigured so as to allow the continuous opening and closing of the cap14 onto top 12 to dispense and effectively seal the contents within theinterior of container 10. Snap-on tops are useful. Shown in FIG. 1 is atwist top in which spiral threads 16 on neck 12 match with threadscontained with the interior of cap 14. As shown, the threads 16 includea circumferential thread 18, known as a security strip, which ensuresthat the cap 14 remains secure on neck 12, even in the event thatcontainer 10 is vigorously jostled or dropped.

From neck or top 12, container 10 contains a shoulder 20 which is of agreater diameter than neck 12. Shoulder 20 preferably has a circularcross-section throughout. However, other cross-section configurationsare possible ranging from elliptical to rectangular and square. Bymaintaining a circular cross-section, it is believed the container ofthis invention fits more readily into known paint can handlingequipment.

In the configuration of shoulder 20 as shown in FIG. 1, shoulder 20expands slightly from neck 12. Other configurations of the shoulder canbe provided as shown in the container of FIG. 4. Below shoulder 20 isthe cylindrical body 22 of container 10. The body 22 has a uniform outerwall and, again, is preferably of a circular cross-section substantiallythroughout. As above said regarding shoulder 20, body 22 may be providedwith other than a circular cross-section, although such otherconfigurations are not preferred. Positioned between shoulder 20 andbody 22 is a circumferential gripping ring 24 in the form of acircumferential indention around container 10. The gripping ring has anoutside diameter less than both the outside diameters of shoulder 20 andbody 22, and allows the user to hold the container within their hand,typically between the thumb and forefinger. The container 10 does notcontain any handle accessory which needs to be separately molded orseparately formed and subsequently added to the container. Further, thecontainer 10 of the present invention does not include any handleconfiguration that extends or protrudes laterally from the container.Thus, the mold for container 10 is of relatively simple construction andallows for relatively easy molding with a uniform thickness easy toobtain. The narrow diameter gripping ring 24 maintains the preferredcircular cross-section of the container 10 of this invention from top tobottom, and allows the container 10 of this invention to be utilized inconventional paint can handling and shaking equipment. To strengthencontainer 10, the gripping ring 24 contains a plurality of vertical ribs26 circumferentially spaced along and molded into gripping ring 24. Theribs 26 can be protrusions from the outer surface as shown or can beindentions as shown in the container illustrated in FIG. 5. The ribs 26reinforce the strength of container 10 and, in particular, provide thestrength necessary to withstand the vigorous shaking which takes placein conventional paint mixing equipment.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example of a plastic container within thescope of the present invention and which is very similar to container 10as shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 4, the plastic container which isgenerally indicated by reference numeral 30, and typically in a quart orone-half gallon size, is formed by extrusion blow molding from theplastic materials as used to form container 10 and described previously.Container 30 contains a neck 32, which is preferably of a circularcross-section. Neck 32 has a mouth of the same diameter as discussedwith respect to container 10. Neck 32 can be sealed by a cap, which isnot shown, and can be configured so as to allow the continuous openingand closing of a cap onto the neck 32 to dispense and effectively sealthe contents within the interior of container 30. While snap-on tops canbe used as, shown in FIG. 4, neck 32 contains spiral threads 34, whichwould match the threads contained in the interior of a cap. Neck 32 alsoincludes a circumferential thread 36, known as a security stripequivalent to security strip 18, as shown in FIG. 1. The security stripensures that any cap that is enclosed around neck 32 remains secure inplace in the event that the container 30 is vigorously shaken ordropped.

From neck 32, container 30 contains a shoulder 38 that is of a greaterdiameter than neck 32. Shoulder 38 preferably has a circularcross-section throughout. A particular difference between container 30and container 10 of FIG. 1 is the shape of the shoulder 38. Thus, theshoulder 38 is of a rounded or vertical shape as compared to shoulder 20of container 10, in which the shoulder expands slightly from the neck.The exact outer shape of the shoulder 38 is not of particularcriticality to the present invention.

Below shoulder 38 is a cylindrical body 40 of container 30. Body 40 hasa uniform outer wall and, again, is preferably of a circularcross-section substantially throughout. Body 40 may be provided withother than a circular cross-section, although such other configurationsare not preferred. Positioned between shoulder 38 and body 40 is acircumferential gripping ring 42 in the form of a circumferentialindention around container 30. The gripping ring has an outside diameterless than both the outside diameters of shoulder 38 and body 40, and isequivalent to the gripping ring 24 of container 10, shown in FIG. 1. Thegripping ring allows the user to hold the container in one hand,typically between the thumb and the forefinger, and wherein the shoulder38 abuts the top of the hand surface. Like container 10, container 30does not contain any handle accessory which needs to be separatelymolded or separately formed and subsequently attached to the container.Further, container 30 does not include any handle configuration thatextends or protrudes laterally from the container. Such shape allows forthe mold of container 30 to be of a simple construction. Moreover, theshape of the container allows it to be readily placed into conventionalpaint mixing equipment and shaken vigorously without disrupting anylateral handle configurations.

Container 30 also contains a series of circumferentially spaced ribs 44molded into the gripping ring 42. As shown in FIG. 4, the ribs 44 areprotrusions from the outer surface of container 30, but can beindentions in which the ribs would extend from the inward surface of thecontainer. The ribs 44 greatly strengthen the plastic container 30 andallow the plastic container to be vigorously shaken in paint mixingequipment without destruction of the container structure.

In FIG. 5 is shown still another alternative plastic container withinthe scope of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the plastic container isgenerally indicated by reference numeral 50, and can be formed of thesame plastic materials such as high-density polyethylene, polypropylene,and polyethylene terephthalate, as previously described. Again,container 50 can be formed by any known molding technique, althoughextrusion blow molding would be a particularly useful method of formingthe container. Container 50 contains a neck 52, which can be sealed by acap not shown by means of threads 54 placed on the neck 52, and whichwould match threads that would be contained in the inside of any cap. Asecurity strip 56 is also shown, and would allow the twist-on cap to besecured to the neck 52 and container 50, in the event that container 50is vigorously shaken, such as in the paint mixing equipment as known, oraccidentally dropped. The hand gripping portion of container, 50indicated by reference numeral 58, is not formed by a circumferentialindented ring, as in containers 10 and 30. Importantly, however, thehand grip portion 58 of container 50 contains a plurality ofcircumferentially-spaced ribs 60, which greatly increase the strength ofthe plastic container and allow it to be used in the conventional paintmixing equipment, and still maintain the integrity of the containerduring the vigorous shaking in such equipment. The ribs 60, as shown inFIG. 5, are indentions, or in other words, protrude from the interiorsurface of the container. It is understood that the ribs 60 can be inthe form of the indentions as shown or protrusions from the outersurface as shown by ribs 26 and 44 in FIGS. 1 and 4, respectively.

Below the hand grip portion 58 is a body portion 62. The body 62generally has a uniform outer wall and is preferably of a circularcross-section substantially throughout. Likewise, the hand grip portion60 and the neck 52 are all preferably of a circular cross-section. Thegripping portion 58 of container 50 can expand from neck 52 to bodyportion 62, although the exact configuration of the gripping portion 58is not particularly critical. What is most useful is that the plasticcontainer is provided with a series of the spaced ribs 60 to provide thenecessary strength for the plastic container to withstand the vigorousforces that are placed on the container during the paint mixing step.

EXAMPLE 1

In this example, the pouring speeds of colorant from plastic containersof this invention in quart and ½ gallon sizes were compared to that ofthe typically used quart metal cans. POUR TEST % Material Pour Time toPour Time Container Left in Can Thin Stream to Drip Quart Can (2 holes3.9-4.2 15-20 sec  ˜35 sec with church key) Quart Can (no lid)¹ 3.1   ˜5sec  ˜20 sec New Quart (no lid)² 3.3-3.6   ˜5 sec 20-25 sec AfterScraping Out: 2.2-2.4 New ½ Gal (no lid)² 2.1-2.6  <10 sec 35-70 secAfter Scraping Out: 1.7-2.2¹4 inch diameter opening²89 mm (3.5 inch) diameter opening

Due to the larger opening than the two holes from a church key canopener pour times were reduced 65-75% (10-15 seconds) per container withthe quart container of this invention. The larger opening allowsadditional material to be recovered using a rubber kitchen spatula.Wasted material is significantly reduced using the ½ gallon containerwhen compared to two of the existing quart cans. Residual colorant wasreduced by an average of 1.7%. With roughly 60 seconds of scraping, anadditional 0.4% could be recovered. Pour time for the ½ gallon containerwas less than 10 seconds to empty the container to a thin stream. Pourtimes on an equivalent basis for two quart cans were up to four timeslonger (40 seconds, not including time for opening the can versus 10seconds for the ½ gallon).

Without scraping, a yield improvement of 1.7% on the high volumecolorants in the ½ gallon containers equates to hundreds of thousands ofdollars in annual savings realized by the customer. Savings in employeecosts are also realized from faster pour times on the quart containerusing a 10 second per container reduction in pour time and from thefaster pour times on the ½ gallon container (10 seconds vs. 35 seconds)per container.

1. A plastic container for holding liquids comprising a circular opentop capable of closure by a separate cap and a body portion extendingfrom below said open top, said body portion containing a gripping ringin the form of a reduced perimeter ring disposed around the perimeter ofsaid body portion, said circular top having a diameter of at least 50mm, said container being devoid of a separately attached handle or anyhandle portion which extends laterally outward from said container. 2.The plastic container of claim 1 having an internal volume of ½ gallonor one (1) quart.
 3. The plastic container of claim 1 further includinga shoulder extending from said open top to said body portion and saidgripping ring is disposed between said shoulder and said body portion.4. The plastic container of claim 3 wherein said shoulder or said bodyportion has a circular cross-section.
 5. The plastic container of claim3 wherein said gripping ring has a plurality of vertical ribs spacedaround the outer circumference of said ring.
 6. The plastic container ofclaim 1 wherein said open top has a spiral thread capable of holding atwist-on top which has matching internal threads.
 7. The plasticcontainer of claim 1 wherein said open top has a diameter of at least 60mm.
 8. The plastic container of claim 1 wherein said body portioncontains a plurality of vertical ribs spaced around said body portion.9. The plastic container of claim 8 wherein said vertical ribs protrudefrom an outer surface of said body portion.
 10. The plastic container ofclaim 8 wherein said vertical ribs are indented from the outer surfaceof said body portion.
 11. The plastic container of claim 1 formed fromhigh-density polyethylene.
 12. A personal care product containercomprising the plastic container of claim 1.